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Tuesday, 7 April 2015

SCRAP SWAZI TERROR ACT: AMNESTY

Amnesty International has renewed its criticism
of Swaziland for the ‘continued persecution of peaceful political opponents and
critics’ by the King and his authorities.

The human rights organisation has called for the
Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA) and the Sedition and Subversive Activities
Act (SSA Act) to be scrapped or drastically rewritten.

It said the Swazi authorities were using the Acts,
‘to intimidate activists, further entrench political exclusion and to restrict
the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful
assembly. Fourteen people are currently charged under these laws.’

King Mswati III rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan
Africa’s last absolute monarch. All political parties are banned from taking
part in elections and groups that call for a move towards multi-party democracy
are banned under the STA.

The King appoints the Prime Minister, Government
Ministers and the kingdom’s judges.

In a public statement to draw attention to the
‘repression of fundamental freedoms’ in Swaziland, Amnesty said 14 people were
currently charged in five separate trials.

‘Ten are charged under both laws, including Mario
Masuku, Maxwell Dlamini, and Mlungisi Makhanya, the Secretary General of the opposition
organization, PUDEMO, along with six other co-accused.

‘The authorities also initiated trial proceedings
under the SSA Act against Thulani Maseko in September 2014, on sedition charge
first raised against him in 2009.

‘All of the accused are out on bail, apart from
Thulani Maseko, Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini.

‘The alleged offences include shouting slogans at a
Workers’ Day rally, utterances made at funerals, possession of PUDEMO leaflets,
wearing PUDEMO t-shirts while attending the trial of Thulani Maseko and Bheki
Makhubu, or calling for a boycott of the elections held in 2013.

‘The start of these trials have been postponed,
pending the outcome of a constitutional challenge to the laws which will be
heard in the High Court in September 2015.’

Amnesty said the SSA Act violated Swaziland’s human
rights obligations. It placed the onus on the accused to prove that their
alleged acts, utterances or documents published were not done with ‘seditious
intention’.

The SSA Act also obliged courts to conduct
proceedings in camera relating to an offence under the Act if so requested by the
prosecution.

Amnesty also said the STA was incompatible with
Swaziland’s human rights obligations because of, ‘The failure to restrict the
definition of ‘terrorist act’ to the threatened or actual use of violence
against civilians;

‘The failure of the definition to meet the
requirements of legality, that is, accessibility, precision, applicability to
counter-terrorism alone, non-discrimination and non-retroactivity.’

It added offences were, ‘defined with such
over-breadth and imprecision that they place excessive restrictions on a wide
range of human rights, including the right to hold opinions without
interference and the right to freedom of expression.’

Amnesty stated, ‘Amnesty International reiterates
its call to the Swaziland government to repeal or immediately amend the STA, as
well as the SSA Act, to withdraw criminal charges currently made under these
laws, release all prisoners held solely for exercising their human rights
peacefully and to stop abusing the criminal justice system to violate the
rights of freedom of expression and association.’